Louisiana Waterthrush

Seiurus motacillaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Wood Warblers (Parulidae)

Related Birds

Northern Waterthrush
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Wood Thrush
Swainson's Warbler

General

Louisiana Waterthrush: Large, heavy-bodied, ground-dwelling warbler with dark olive-brown upperparts and heavily streaked white underparts with buff wash on belly and sides. Throat is white; eyestripe is dark and thick, white eyebrows widen behind eyes. Bill is long and heavy. Tail is short with pale buff undertail coverts. Sexes are similar. Bobs tail continually.

Range and Habitat

Louisiana Waterthrush: Breeds from Minnesota, southern Ontario and central New England south to Texas and Georgia. Spends winters in the tropics. Preferred habitats include swift-moving brooks on hillsides, river swamps, and along sluggish streams.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"SWEER-SWEER-SWEER", " chee chi-wit-it chit swee-yuu"

Interesting Facts

A bird of forest streams, the Louisiana Waterthrush looks more like a thrush or sparrow than the warbler it is.

It occasionally naps in the middle of the day. Unlike when it sleeps at night, it does not tuck its bill behind a wing. Instead, it pulls its neck into its body, squats down, covers its legs with its body feathers, and shuts its eyes.

This species is of high conservation importance, because of its relatively small breeding range, low overall density, and dependence on clear forest streams both on its breeding and tropical wintering grounds.

A group of warblers has many collective nouns, including a "bouquet", "confusion", "fall", and "wrench" of warblers.

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Louisiana Waterthrush

Louisiana Waterthrush: Large ground-dwelling warbler, dark olive-brown upperparts, heavily streaked white underparts with buff wash on belly and sides. White throat; eyestripe is dark and thick, white eyebrows widen behind eyes. Bill is long and heavy. Tail is short with pale buff undertail coverts.

● Song: "SWEER-SWEER-SWEER", " chee chi-wit-it chit swee-yuu"

● Foraging & Feeding: Louisiana Waterthrush: Eats insects, other invertebrates, small fish, and small frogs. Forages primarily on the ground within the boundary of a stream channel; occasionally searches trees during insect swarms.

● Breeding & nesting: Louisiana Waterthrush: Four to six white eggs, with brown and gray specks or blotches, are laid in a grass-lined nest made of dead leaves and moss, and set under the overhang of a stream bank, in a stump cavity, or in exposed tree roots. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Louisiana Waterthrush: Northern Waterthrush has shorter bill, spotted throat, and lacks buff wash on underparts.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Louisiana Waterthrush: Breeds from Minnesota, southern Ontario and central New England south to Texas and Georgia. Spends winters in the tropics. Preferred habitats include swift-moving brooks on hillsides, river swamps, and along sluggish streams.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationUncommon to fairly common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.7 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America